


Break Down The Door

by Artemis_Day



Series: The Door Never Opened [2]
Category: Ouran High School Host Club - All Media Types
Genre: Alternate Timeline, Alternate Universe - Canon, Fate, Friendship, Gen, Older Work, Sequel
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2012-12-02
Updated: 2012-12-07
Packaged: 2017-11-20 01:15:47
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 7
Words: 15,860
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/579694
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Artemis_Day/pseuds/Artemis_Day
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>Six shots in the dark. Six chance encounters. Because sometimes you just can't fight fate. Sequel to The Door Never Opened.</p>
            </blockquote>





	1. Hikaru

**Author's Note:**

> This is the sequel to my earlier Ouran fic 'The Door Never Opened'. YOU ABSOLUTELY MUST READ THAT FIC BEFORE YOU READ THIS ONE! I'm not plugging it or anything either. It's just that you will not understand this fic at all unless you read 'The Door Never Opened' first.

**_.01 Hikaru_ **

_Clack. Clack. Clack. Thump._

Haruhi stopped and looked down. It appeared that she'd stepped on a book, a notebook to be exact.

As she picked it up off the ground, she suddenly recalled a conversation she'd had with her middle school friend, Kasumi, about a manga the girl had been reading called 'Death Note.' Something about a high school student using a magic notebook to kill criminals, she couldn't remember the exact details. Of course, this notebook looked nothing like the one Kasumi described, it was blue and leather bound with gold trim. A long blue thread hung out by the spine, no doubt meant to be used as a book mark. Causally flipping to the first page confirmed that it was indeed a regular school notebook filled with math notes, rather than some sort of supernatural murder weapon.

Haruhi raised her head to look around, seeing if anyone was nearby who might have dropped the book, but the hallway was empty. Another glance at the cover revealed a clue as to the identity of the notebook's owner: the name 'H. HITACHIIN' stitched in gold at the top right hand corner.

 _'Rich people,'_ she thought to herself with a sigh. _'Well, I guess I should turn this in, though the name is sort of familiar.'_

Indeed it was; unfortunately, Haruhi couldn't recall just where she'd heard it.

_'Whoever owns this notebook must be in one of my classes.'_

Before she could ponder further, the five minute bell rang, and Haruhi realized she was in danger of being late to class. Deciding she'd bring the notebook to the lost and found later, she quickly stored it in her school bag and ran as fast as she could down the hall.

**  
Most of the info covered in her British Literature class, Haruhi already knew. Their current book, Beowulf, had proven so entertaining that she'd read the whole thing in one night. She sat quietly and read along with the student currently reading aloud; she'd already taken her turn and so had nothing much else to do until the end of class.

As the girl two rows ahead of her finished reading, the Professor motioned for her to sit and looked out at the students.

"Alright, who wants to go next?"

Two hands went in the air, but both were from people who'd gone before and so the Professor ignored them. Haruhi watched with disinterest as he walked down the rows of desks. He stopped before the red-headed twins she sometimes saw around the campus (she STILL didn't know their names).

"Hikaru Hitachiin," the Professor said to the twin on the left. "Would you like to read?"

"I'd love to, Sensei," answered the twin on the right.

The Professor started and turned his attention to the twin on the right, "Oh I'm sorry, I thought you were Kaoru."

"Well, as it happens, you're right, I am Kaoru," said the twin on the right as both of them adopted cheeky grins and the rest of the class began to snicker.

The Professor wasn't quite as amused and gave the twins an annoyed look.

"Well…one of you, just read from were Suwada-san left off."

The twin on the left, apparently Hikaru, stood up with his copy of the book, while Haruhi watched him in silence with dawning recognition.

_'So he's 'H. Hitachiin' then, I knew I'd heard that name before. I'll give the notebook back to him after class.'_

When the bell rang fifteen minutes later, Haruhi stood from her seat in the back and walked toward the twins, who were silently conversing. She knew that other girls in her class got anxious approaching them, apparently because of how good looking they were or something. Of course, Haruhi had never been quite like other girls, and so she calmly strode forward, a hand reaching into her bag where the one called Hikaru's notebook lay and-

"Fujioka-san may I see you here for a moment?"

Haruhi stopped and turned to face the Professor. By this time, the twins had gotten up from their desks and were walking out to door. Haruhi sighed inwardly, she'd just have to hope she saw one of them again today or else go with her Lost and Found plan.

**  
In the end, the Professor had only wished to inform her that she'd once again received top scores in the most recent test. Nothing special, this professor and a few others loved to stop her and congratulate her 'wonderful achievements' in her studies. She often wondered if the only reason they were so thrilled was because she was the only 'commoner' in the school, as if not having a gold plated car or a diamond encrusted swimming pool meant she wasn't intelligent.

When he finally let her go, Haruhi once again had to run to reach her next class, which went by uneventfully as did the next two until the school day finally ended. She still hadn't seen either Hikaru or Kaoru Hitachiin around, and had lost all hope by the time the last bell rang. This made it pretty funny when she spotted a mess of orange hair out the corner of her eyes while on her way to the main office.

He was sitting alone by the fountain rummaging through his valise. She couldn't see his eyes underneath his hair, but he was biting down on his lip making it appear like something was bothering him.

 _'I wonder if he's looking for the notebook,'_ Haruhi thought as she walked toward him.

He didn't notice anyone approaching until Haruhi stood right in front of him, at which point his hands stopped moving and he looked up at her with an indifferent eye. This turned to surprise when he saw the notebook.

"Can I help you?" He asked after beat.

Haruhi simply held the book out to him, "I found this in the hallway a little while ago, I think it belongs to you."

Hikaru stared into Haruhi's brown eyes and slowly took the book from her waiting hand.

"How do you know it's mine?" He asked casually.

Haruhi raised an eyebrow, "Well you're name on the cover was a hint."

Hikaru kept his eyes on her for another second before turning his attention to the notebook, which he began flipping though at a fast pace. He then took it by the spine and shook it, eliciting a confused reaction from Haruhi.

"What are you doing?" She asked.

"Checking to make sure you didn't write anything in it or stick a love note inside." He answered evenly without looking up. "I'm really not in the mood to get another one right now, especially not from a guy."

His comment and general tone made Haruhi's confusion turn to annoyance and anger. Who did he think he was? Just because he was a rich boy didn't give him the right to talk down to her!

"Well, with that kind of attitude, I don't see why anyone would give you one."

The redhead froze, and looked up at Haruhi incredulously.

"What did you say?"

"You heard me," the brunette firmly answered. "I can't speak for the people supposedly sending you these love notes, but if you treat them all like this, then you never deserved a single one of them."

Hikaru just stared opened mouthed at her, so she continued.

"I can assure you I didn't write anything in your notebook and I definitely didn't nor would I ever put a love note inside, so don't be so concerned. I'll be going now, have a nice day."

She turned and walked away, not wanting to wait for a response. She walked out off the campus and took a bus to the train station, getting on the 4:20 subway for home and walking the two blocks from the station to her apartment, her anger and the entire conversation slipping out her thoughts into the far reaches of her memory. They were replaced by thoughts of what to make for dinner that night and what topic to write about for her World History paper.

But Hikaru Hitachiin would not forget the encounter anytime soon, nor the fact that he could not recall anyone speaking like that to him since that maid whose name neither he nor his brother could remember.


	2. Kaoru

**_.02 Kaoru _ **

Sunday was Haruhi's favorite day of the week to go shopping, because this was the day the local department store gave the best deals. This particular Sunday, she didn't really need anything, the groceries had been bought the day before and she'd already purchased a gift for her father's birthday next week. Today, Haruhi simply had no homework to do nor any other plans. Her father was working all day and she didn't feel like sitting home alone.

The clothing racks held no interest, nor did the make-up or jewelry sections. She mostly stood around the books and the food aisle comparing prices. As she made her way toward the Home Goods, a familiar flash of orange made her stop and blink her eyes a few times. That wasn't who she thought it was, was it?

Her mind returned to that short conversation they'd had only three days ago. She hadn't thought about it since it happened, and neither Hikaru nor his brother (Kaoru, was it?) acknowledged her at all the day after, making her think that she should just put the whole thing behind her. It wasn't like she'd see either of them outside school, right? Right.

She'd obviously just been seeing things.

 _'And really, what would a rich guy like him be doing here anyway?'_ She told herself. She was fairly comfortable with this reasoning until she heard a voice ring out.

"Hey, Fujioka?"

Haruhi turned to face the speaker, and there he was, Hikaru Hitachiin standing two feet away from her in casual clothes. She stared at him for a good few seconds, unsure of how to handle the situation. The redhead approached her with an easy grin, which seemed strange considering what had occurred in their last encounter.

"I thought it was you," Hikaru said cheerfully. "I guess I shouldn't be surprised, what with all the commoners walking around."

The brunette felt a twinge of annoyance, but kept it down as she forced a smile.

"Well today is a sale day, and to be honest I'm more surprised to see youhere. This doesn't seem like…" She stopped, at a lose for how to continue her sentence without sounding offensive.

She was in luck though, as Hikaru seemed to understand what she was getting at, and his smile grew to a grin.

"You're right about that, I'm only because I was curious about this commoner stuff. Everything here is really cheap," He reached out and randomly grabbed a container from the shelf. "Like this coffee, what does 'Instant Coffee' mean anyway? That it's already ground?"

Haruhi blinked, "Already ground? No, it's _instant_. You just add hot water."

He gave her a wide eyed stare that left her feeling a bit unconfortable.

"You just…add water?" he asked, sounding as if she'd just told him she was the Queen of England. "I've never heard of that."

Haruhi couldn't resist rolling her eyes, "Well, it was nice seeing you again."

She nodded farwell and turned to leave. However, she could hear him following her and he was still there, smiling, when she stopped and turned her head.

_'Just what does he want with me? He seems so different from before.'_

"So what are you shopping for?" He asked as they walked toward the clothing racks.

"Nothing in particular," Haruhi answered with a shrug, absently running her fingers down a green sundress on display.

"Well that's a cheap looking dress," Hikaru said with a snort. "What kind of fabric is this anyway, polyester? Surely commoners have better taste than this."

He continued muttering to himself until he noticed Haruhi staring at him, eyebrow raised.

"My mom's a fashion designer," He explained. "I've grown up around this sort of thing, so trust me when I say this dress is cheaply made."

Haruhi nodded, "I see."

She took another look at the dress. It was nice she supposed, but then she'd never known much about that sort of thing, much to her father's annoyance. He always wanted to dress her up in 'cute little outfits like other girls wore' but she would never go along with any of it.

"My dad's always trying to get me to wear stuff like this," She remarked while pulling a frilly pink dress off another rack. "He thinks I need to be more girly or something."

"More… _girly?_ "

Haruhi glanced at him, her curiosity peaked by his tone. The dress he'd been criticizing had fallen from his hands, and he was staring at her with wide eyes as if he'd never seen anything like her. Haruhi blinked and tilted her head a bit.

"Is something wrong?" She asked innocently.

Hikaru suddenly seemed to come to come out his stupor and shook his head a couple of times, "No, no, I'm fine."

Then he stilled, looking her over up and down and taking in the blue T-shirt and khaki shorts she wore.

"But while we're here, let's find something for you that your dad willlike."

Haruhi blinked, "Wait, what?"

It was too late to argue. Hikaru grabbed her arm, his expression that of a man on a mission, and dragged poor Haruhi through the harrowing depths of the clothing section.

_'He really doesn't act like the Hikaru from before.'_

**  
During the two long hours Hikaru kept her, he'd denounced 90% of the clothing items as 'cheaply made trash not suited for homeless people' and had her try on what felt like fifty different outfits, all of which he eventually rejected for one reason or another. She couldn't help but wonder why he cared so much about her clothes, or why as more time passed, she became more and more convinced that the person she was speaking to definitely wasn't Hikaru Hitachiin.

"Now _that_ looks good on you," the redhead finally declared after what felt like days. "You'd look even better without those glasses."

Haruhi ignored the last part of his statement, and instead focused on her reflection in the mirror. When she took in her appearance, she had to admit she looked nice.

She wore a red spaghetti strap blouse with white sleeves underneath and blue skinny jeans. Her sneakers were the only part of her old outfit remaining (she'd vehemently refused shoe shopping). Any thoughts of how she looked however were erased when she came back out of the fitting room dressed in her regular clothes with the chosen outfit back on it's hangers, and Hikaru began dragging her towards the checkout line.

"I can't buy this," She protested loudly. "It's too much money!"

"Oh come on, after all the time we spent picking it out?" Hikaru retorted.

"That's not the point!" Haruhi argued.

The redhead ignored her and continued to pull her. Just as they reached the checkout line, Haruhi finally broke free of his grip.

"Look, I told you it's too much money," she said firmly. "That means I don't have enough to pay for it. So how do you expect me to buy it?"

Hikaru smiled, "Well if that's the case, I can pay for it."

If he thought that was the right response, he was wrong. Dead wrong. Haruhi shot him a annoyed look, then turned and began to put the clothes back on the racks.

"What's the matter," Hikaru asked urgently. "You don't want me to buy them for you?"

"No." she answered flatly, trying to make it abundantly clear that this was her final word.

Did he really think she wanted a handout, just because she wasn't obscenely rich like him and all the other kids at Ouran? These damn rich people really were all the same.

Hikaru's expression of surprise and, dare she say it, sadness, however, made her anger fade a bit. She gave an exasperated sigh.

"It is really that important? They're just clothes after all."

She got the feeling Hikaru wanted to comment on that, but thankfully he didn't. Instead, he surprised her by flashing an apologetic smile.

"I don't know, I guess I just felt bad for the way I acted the other day. I suppose an 'I'm sorry' would've been more sufficient, but I wanted to do something nice for you. Besides, you looked adorable in those clothes."

By now Haruhi's anger had completely melted away, replaced by light annoyance and, to her surprise, amusement. She smiled in return.

"Well, I suppose it was nice of you to offer, Hitachiin-san," She responded after a beat.

The redhead grinned cheekily, "Hey, none of that 'Hitachiin-san' stuff, you can just call me Hikaru."

Haruhi blinked, and she examined the young man's face for a few seconds before answering.

"Well I would…if you were Hikaru."

'Hikaru' gasped, and Haruhi had to stifle a laugh. Seeing him look so shocked was actually rather amusing, considering the 'cool guy' front he'd been playing up all day.

"Wh-what do you mean, of course I'm Hikaru!" He argued, his composure very clearly shaken.

Haruhi, of course, remained calm as ever when she answered, "No you're not. You do look like Hikaru, and to be honest, you really did have me fooled for a while, but as we were talking, I began to notice a lot of differences between the two of you.

"It's true I didn't speak with Hikaru for long last Wednesday, but I can already tell that your speech and actions are a bit different than his. I guess it's not really noticeable unless you're apart. I'm guessing you're really his twin, Kaoru, right?"

Kaoru opened and closed his mouth a couple of times, clearly at a loss for what to say or do. Haruhi waiting patiently until her wandering eyes caught a clock on the wall, and her insides jolted.

"Uh-oh, is it that late already?" She thought aloud, then turned to the still speechless Kaoru and smiled apologetically. "I'm sorry, I have to go now. My dad will be home from work in a few hours and I have to get dinner started."

She moved past him, stopping to look back at him one more time.

"Thanks for apologizing. Tell Hikaru when you see him that I accept, though I wish he would've told me himself, and tell him I said 'hi' too, okay?"

By now, Kaoru seemed to have regained some brain function, but unfortunately not enough to string a few words together, so he simply nodded his head. Haruhi smiled and turned to leave. Four steps later, his voice sounded again.

"Wait," Kaoru called out, finally breaking from his shock. "Can I give you a lift home?"

Haruhi faced him and shook her head, "No thank you, my place is pretty close, so I can walk from here. I'll see you at school."

And then she was gone, before Kaoru could even blink. Still he stared after her retreating form as footsteps approached him. He wasn't all that concerned about them, as he already knew who it was standing next to him. Kaoru knew that his brother was just as, if not more, shocked by what had just occurred.

"She knew you weren't me," Hikaru's voice was barely a whisper.

Kaoru nodded without looking at his twin. Hikaru had hidden behind some clothing racks and watched the whole time Kaoru was with Haruhi, and even he wasn't sure just what had happened to make this…this commoner whom they barely even knew figure it out when even their own mother had trouble sometimes.

"She's different," Kaoru said wistfully, then a smile came to his face as he turned to face his brother. "And I can't believe we actually thought she was a _guy._ "


	3. Hunny

**_.03 Hunny _ **

Haruhi brushed her fingers against the lapel of her jacket for perhaps the umpteenth time that day. The uniform still had a relatively 'new' feeling, it would be a few more days before wearing it felt natural.

Her dad's recent pay raise had enabled her to finally buy an Ouran uniform, and even though she'd argued with her dad for hours about not spending the extra money on such frivolities, eventually he won out.

"I think you'd look so adorable in one of those dresses," her father had gushed.

Unfortunately, it turned out to be a hollow victory. Haruhi bought the uniform just like he wanted, the male uniform in fact. As it turned out, the female uniform was more expensive than the male, and even with the extra money, Haruhi couldn't afford it. The look on his face when she came home with it was indescribable.

She supposed she understood where he was coming from. Other than Hikaru and Kaoru, everyone at school seemed to think she was a boy. According to the twins, her short, messy hair and thick rimmed glasses had more to do with it than anything else. Without them, she looked much more feminine. Not that Haruhi really cared or anything, she always believed that people should be judged for who they were rather than for what sex they were.

The twins had been even more shocked than her dad (if that was possible) when she walked into class that morning. No one else had much of a reaction beyond a quick glance in her direction, probably because they already thought she was a boy so seeing her in a boys uniform wasn't all that shocking.

The brunette adjusted her grip on her school bag as she stood at the bus stop. It would be another ten minutes until the bus arrived and she was the only one around to waiting for it, which didn't really bother her. She rather liked the peace and quiet.

"Hey, take a look at that."

Haruhi turned. Five boys were approaching her, all of them dressed in stereotypical 'tough guy' gear and all of them at least twice her size. The brunette tightened her grip on her bag, caution causing her nerves to tense. She stood her ground in spite of this as they surrounded her.

"Can I help you gentleman with something?"

Her voice was much firmer than she'd expected.

The big man in the middle, apparently their leader, grinned evilly. "Oh we're sorry, it's just not every day that we find a rich boy from that Ouran School around these parts."

Haruhi frowned, willing herself not to back away. "Well I'm afraid you're mistaken. I'm not rich, I don't have anything for you to steal."

"Oh come on," The leader answered, grabbing her by the shirt. "You think I believe that? Just hand over all your money and you won't get hurt."

Something shined in his free hand, and Haruhi didn't need to look down to know what he was holding. Swallowing, she tried to calm her thought enough to figure out a way out of this situation, when suddenly-

"Hey you!"

The group all turned and Haruhi had to look over the shoulder of the man holding her to see the new arrival. She wasn't quite sure what to think when she saw a small blonde boy, who had to be around ten years old, dressed in the same school uniform as her and holding a pink stuffed bunny in his arms.

"Why are you picking on him like that?" The boy demanded, a scowl plastered across his frankly adorable features.

The thieves looked at each other and then back at the kid, unsure what to make of this new development. Haruhi opened her mouth to tell the boy to run, but the man holding her shook her by collar before she could get a word out.

"Keep quiet or else," He hissed threateningly, flashing the knife a second time.

"Beat it, kid," One of them finally said, taking a threatening step forward. "We don't like hurting kids, so just get out of here."

"I'm not going anywhere until you let him go," The boy answered firmly, not at all intimidated by the much larger man's actions. "So do it now, before I have to make you!"

At this, the group burst out laughing. Haruhi could only watch and quietly will the boy to leave before he got hurt.

"Boys, take care of this little snot," The leader ordered, still not letting go of Haruhi's collar.

"You got it, boss," The one from before strode toward the boy with fists raised. "I said I don't like hitting kids, but you've left me no choice, stupid brat."

The boy didn't react.

 _'No, run away!'_ Haruhi thought desperately, her eyes widening as the large man raised his fist to the somehow still calm looking boy.

His arm swung down. Haruhi closed her eyes, not wanting to see the impact. She only opened them again after hearing the men gasp. What she saw made her gasp as well. The man's fist had failed to hit it's target, only because said target had caught the arm mid-swing. The boy held it over his head with the same nonchalant look he'd been wearing since getting involved in the scuffle.

"Wh-what the hell?" The man stammerd, trying in vain to free his arm.

The boy tightened his grip and the man screamed in pain.

"Anybody else?" The boy said with a hint of malice in his voice.

Like fools, the other three immediately ran at him. The ensuing battle lasted roughly ten seconds, with the barely five foot tall boy completely destroying the four very large men until they were just four unconscious masses on the ground. By now, the leader was shaking in fear and made a high pitched squeak when the boy finished off his last man and turned to face him.

"Well?" The supposed child asked with a look in his eye that promise a fate similar to that of his friends.

Without hesitating, the man let Haruhi go, stammered an apology, and ran for his life down the street, leaving both students and his gang behind.

Now alone with the boy, Haruhi was had no idea what to do next. She knew she should thank the boy, but she was honestly a little nervous around him after what she'd just seen. At least she was until she turned away from the retreating thug and looked at her savior again.

"Are you okay, Usa-chan?" He was saying to the bunny, brushing at it's fake fur with a genuinely concerned expression. "You didn't get dirty, did you?"

Haruhi stared, unable to comprehend the change that had come over the boy almost instantaneously. A second ago he looked ready to kill someone, now he looked… cute, for lack of a better word.

"I know what'll cheer you up," The boy happily exclaimed. "Let's go get some cake!"

He looked up at Haruhi, his smile widening. She could've sworn she saw little flowers floating around his head as spoke to her.

"What about you, Haru-chan, would you like some cake?"

The brunette stared, "Wha- How do you know my name?" _'And did he just call me 'Haru-chan?'_

"Everyone at school knows who you are, you're famous," The boy gushed. "You're like a super hero or something!"

_'I'm not a hero, I'm an honor student.'_

"My name's Mitsukuni Haninozuka," The boy introduced himself with a bow. "But you can call me Hunny, I'm a third year at Ouran!"

That caught Haruhi's attention. Third year? He looked like a child, and he was actually older than her? Then again, after what she'd just seen, him being older than he looked shouldn't have been all that surprising.

"Is something wrong, Haru-chan?" Hunny asked, clearly confused by the stunned look she was giving him.

Haruhi suddenly realized how rude she was being and averted her eyes.

"No, I'm fine, Hunny-senpai," she answered with a smile. "Thank you for saving me, you really didn't have to."

Hunny giggled, "Well of course I helped you, those guys were jerks. They should know never to pick someone with glasses."

Haruhi sweat dropped, 'Does he really understand just what they were trying to do?'

"So would you like to get some cake with me? Usa-chan and I were just going to this cute little commoners cake shop we found last week. They have chocolate cake and ice cream cake and caramel cake and strawberry cake and-"

 _'Again with the commoner thing?'_ Haruhi said to herself, her thoughts drowning out Hunny's voice. _'And I still don't get what all of that was, how could someone so small be able to take on all those men? He must be some kind of martial artist.'_

"Mm-hm, yeah," Haruhi said absently, not really sure just what she was responding to until she felt the small blonde grab her by the arm and pull her down the street away from the bus stop.

"Hey wha-" she yelped, but she found that nothing she said would get him to stop.

"I just know you'll love the cakes, Haru-chan!" Hunny laughed. "They even have birthday cakes that you can put people's pictures on, isn't that cool?"

**  
Truthfully, Haruhi wasn't all that fond of cake. Still, she listened as Hunny-sempai pointed out each cake on display that he'd tried, which ones he had yet to try, and generally just went over the finer points of each and every type, answering politely whenever he asked her what she thought of a certain cake. In the end, Hunny chose a piece of strawberry cake with whipped cream, while Haruhi settled for some plain coffee cake.

She watched him eat in silence, marveling at how child-like he appeared now with his pink bunny tucked under his arm and a mouth full of strawberry icing.

"I really love the cake here!" Hunny commented between bites. "Even though it's commoner food, it's really tasty."

By now, Haruhi had grown so used the commoner thing, that it no longer bothered her much outside of an annoyed twinge. So she let it slide, and instead focused on another issue that had been bugging her.

"I wish you'd have let me pay for you piece, Hunny-senpai," the brunette said catching her upperclassmen's attention, "after all it's the least I could have done after you helped me like that."

"I told you, you don't have to give me anything," Hunny answered. "I don't want to make you spend all your money on me."

Haruhi had to wonder if there was an underlying 'commoner' meaning to that or if he really was just being considerate of her. In the end, she chose not to worry about it and just took another bite out of her cake.

She wound up feeling glad that she didn't insist on paying, as Hunny decided after his first slice to order seven more until he was finally full. She could only imagine how he could eat that much cake and not gain even an ounce.

"Can Usa-chan and I give you a ride home?" The blonde boy asked as they left the shop an hour later.

"Oh no, I'll be fine," Haruhi answered with an nervous smile. "My place is only a few blocks away, but thank you for asking."

Hunny looked sad for a few seconds, then smiled just as brightly as before.

"Okay, but won't you say good-bye to Usa-chan?."

Haruhi stared, dumbfounded, as the short young man pushed the stuffed rabbit up towards her face. When she didn't react beyond a confused look, Hunny's smile vanished.

"What's wrong, don't you like Usa-chan?"

The brunette looked from the older boy to the bunny. She supposed it was cute, even though she'd grown out of stuffed animals a long time ago.

"No, I like him," Haruhi said, reaching out and awkwardly petting it on the head. "He's pretty cute."

Hunny stared into his companion's large, brown eyes, his own widening as realization dawned on him. He broke out into a grin.

"Usa-chan and I think you're cute too, Haru-chan!"

"Uh…" Haruhi had no idea how to answer that. "T- Thank you Hunny-sempai. Maybe I'll see you at school?"

"You bet!" Hunny answered cheerfully.

 _'Well that whole experience sure was weird,'_ Haruhi thought as she walked away.

When she was out of sight, Hunny turned and walked down the street to where he'd told his driver to meet him. His bunny clamped in his arms, his smile remaining ever bright as he moved with a spring in his step.

"I really like her, Usa-chan," Hunny cheered. "And I bet Takashi would like her too."

He giggled as he imagined himself, Takashi, and Haru-chan together at a picnic table eating cake and laughing together as friends. His daydream was quick to evolve, and soon Hika-chan, Kao-chan, and even Kyo-chan joined them, but when another face joined the imaginary party, his heart dropped a little. Hunny's smile became solemn as his pace slowed to a stop.

"Tama-chan would've liked her a lot…"


	4. Mori

**_.04 Mori _ **

Several block away from Haruhi's apartment complex, there was a small park that she always enjoyed visiting, especially during the spring and summer. It was usually very quiet as most people frequented the larger park at the edge of town, and so it was a good place for her to go and read or relax in peace.

Today was the last day Haruhi would spend at home for several weeks, as tomorrow she would be going to her Dad's friend Misuzu's pension in Karuizawa where she'd spent her last summer. She was looking forward to the clean air and peaceful (if uneventful) atmosphere she enjoyed the previous year. Last time, she even ran into her old friend, Arai. She wondered if she'd see him again this year.

She wanted to spend her last day in town at her favorite place, and that's what led her to the park on this day.

Of course, every so often a day came where the park was more crowded than usual, and today, Haruhi was dismayed to find, was one of them.

The brunette had to resist the urge to openly sigh or roll her eyes. Looking to the left, she saw the large, shady tree she liked to sit under occupied by a pair of googly eyed lovers and their picnic basket. In addition, almost all the park benches were taken as far as she could see.

_'Well, I came this far.'_

Haruhi walked, book in arm, down the long, dirt path looking for an open bench. Only when she got to the end of the line did her search sort of pay off. Each bench could seat up to two people (maybe three). While the others had already filled their two person capacity, this bench only housed one person.

He looked familiar, that was the first thing Haruhi noticed. Even though he was sitting down, she could tell he was a lot taller than her. His face was neutral, and his eyes stared straight ahead at the grass. Haruhi wondered if he was waiting for someone or just enjoying the atmosphere the way she liked to. Not wanting to disturb him, she turned to walk away. However, she was suddenly assaulted by several voices in her head.

 _'Haruhi,'_ Her father's voice said. _'You need to make more friends. Those twins you tell me about seem nice, but you've never even brought them home to meet me. I know you went to Ouran to study, but I still want you to have some fun!'_

 _'You really should open up more,'_ The voice of her old friend Kasumi sprang up. _'I bet they'd knock off all that 'commoner' talk once they got to know you better.'_

Haruhi sighed, _'I guess it wouldn't hurt to try once.'_

And with that, she turned back around and put on a smile.

"Good Morning," she greeted him.

He didn't answer, look up, or acknowledge her in any way.

Haruhi blinked. Did he not hear her?

"Good Morning," she said again, louder this time. "Is this seat taken?"

He glanced at her and for a few seconds simply stared into her eyes, then he made a small gesture with his head which she believed indicated 'no'. He then went right back to staring straight ahead. Haruhi had no idea what to make of that.

_'What's with this guy?'_

"Hey, Haruhi!"

The brunette turned towards the voice and saw three small boys running to her, all of whom she instantly recognized as neighbors from her apartment complex. She smiled as she walked toward them and away from the stoic-faced man.

"Shinta-kun," she addressed the auburn haired boy closest to her before glancing at his two brown haired companions. "Hiro-kun, Akira-kun, you guys didn't run away from your parents again, did you?"

Shinta shook his head, "Nah, they're all over there."

He pointed towards a group of adults sitting at a picnic table and Haruhi nodded.

"Okay, so what to you need?" She asked.

"She can't help us." Hiro whispered to Shinta, who shushed him.

"We were playing catch, and our ball got stuck in a tree and it's up really high and we can't get it down!" Akira piped up.

"Can you help us, Haruhi?" Shinta asked.

To be honest, Haruhi wasn't sure she could. She wasn't all that tall, so getting balls out of trees wasn't exactly something she could do easily. Still, she nodded.

"Sure, I'll help."

Shinta and Akira grinned, while Hiro just rolled his eyes. Shinta took Haruhi by the arm and pulled her toward a large tree. Looking up, Haruhi could see the ball situated on a branch that she could reach... were she about three feet taller, she realized as her shoulders dropped.

The boys noticed this as Shinta let out a disappointed sigh.

Behind them, Hiro rolled his eyes again, "I told you guys she couldn't help, she's too short!"

"Shut up, Hiro," Shinta snapped at him.

"Have you tried throwing another ball up there to try and knock it down?" Haruhi asked, trying to be helpful in any way she could.

"We don't _have_ another ball," Hiro rudely replied. "Dontcha think we'd have tried that already?"

"Well maybe your parents and help you get it down."

"They're too busy talking about boring grown-up stuff," Akira replied, hanging his head.

Haruhi frowned, not knowing what to do next. If only she were taller, or at least had something to stand on top of.

"This is pointless, you guys," Hiro was saying. "We should just forget it and go- HOLY CRAP!"

"Hiro-kun!" Haruhi snapped at the boy. "Don't use that language."

"But there's a giant coming this way!" The wide-eyed boy shouted as he pointed at something behind her.

"Eh?"

Haruhi turned, and sure enough, the silent man from before was walking over to them. The same lack of expression adorned his features. Haruhi opened her mouth, but no sound came out as he stopped directly in front of her.

She was definitely right about him being tall; from this position she had to crane her neck all the way up just to see his face. The three boys were all staring at her fearfully, waiting for her to do or say something. Even Hiro-kun was, for once, at a loss for words.

"Can I help you?" Haruhi asked him, careful not to betray any emotions. She didn't think the man was dangerous, but couldn't be sure.

He switched his gaze from her to the tree, which was too tall even for him. Haruhi had turned her head when he did, and therefore didn't see it when the man reached forward and grasped her sides firmly.

"Hey, what're you-" she sputtered while trying to break free of his grip, but he was too strong and by then he'd already lifted her into the air.

"I bet he's gonna eat her," she heard Hiro mutter to Akira, who began to shiver with fear (the poor boy had always had a weak stomach).

Meanwhile, Haruhi was still struggling.

"Let me go, what do you think you're doing?"

He didn't answer, but in the end he didn't have to. At that moment, Haruhi noticed that he was holding her up so high that the tree branches were now at eye level, including the one with the ball wedged inside it. For a moment, she just stared, then she looked down at the young man holding her up. He looked back at her expectantly, and suddenly she understood what he was doing. Tentatively, she stretched her arm out outwards, leaning forward until she felt the leather of the baseball under the tips of her fingers. Once her hand had enclosed the round object, she pulled back, and the man took that as his cue to lower her back down.

When Haruhi once again felt the ground under her feet and the tall man removed his hands from her waist, she held the ball out for the awestruck boys to take. Shinta took it from her, his face still awestruck. Somehow, this action brought the other two out of it.

"That was awesome!" Akira exclaimed jumping up and down happily. "You're awesome, Haruhi! You too, giant man!"

Hiro made a 'pfft' noise at the younger boy's actions, "He is way too easily impressed."

Haruhi and Shinta glared at the bratty child. To their surprise, the boy then sighed and smiled.

"Still, thanks for the help, giant man." He said to the tall man, who predictably gave no response.

"Ahem," Shinta coughed to get Hiro's attention.

The brunette boy glanced at his friend, who jerked his head in Haruhi's direction. Hiro caught his drift and, with a roll of his eyes, gave Haruhi a nod.

"You too, Four-eyes."

Haruhi frowned, but returned the nod. She was long accustomed to the boy's rotten attitude. He'd been like that since the day his family moved in, and she still hadn't forgotten his little trick with the chewing gum last year. Haruhi unconsciously raised a hand to her boy cut hair as the thought entered her mind.

"Come on, let's go play!" Shinta called out.

Hiro ran off without a word, but Akira stayed back to issue Haruhi and 'giant man' a hurried goodbye before running off to join his friends.

Now alone again with the silent young man, Haruhi looked up at him and smiled.

"Thank you for the help," she said to him, not even expecting an answer at this point. "Though I wish you would have told me what you were doing beforehand."

The man just looked at her. His expression unreadable as ever.

"My name is Haruhi, by the way," she introduced herself. "I'm not sure, but I think we may go to the same school."

To her surprise, he nodded at that. So she _had_ seen him at Ouran, but he must be in a different grade since she was pretty sure he wasn't in her class. She smiled wider, happy to have finally gotten a reaction out of him, even if he still wouldn't talk to her. It seemed he wasn't quite as standoffish as he'd originally seemed.

"Well, I'd better go now," Haruhi said. "I hope you have a good summer."

With that, she turned and began her walk back home, all while thinking about what she should pack and how to organize everything in her suitcase. By this time, she was completely out of earshot of the quiet young man who stood watching her go. As such, she didn't hear it when two words escaped his lips in barely a whisper.

"You're welcome."


	5. Kyoya

**_.05 Kyoya _ **

In most cases, Haruhi didn't mind taking the train home from school. True it was crowded, and she couldn't always find a place to sit, and there weas danger of gropers (she'd never had to deal with that, luckily), but it always got her home safely, and so she couldn't complain.

This night, the now second year high school student was lucky enough to board a not quite so packed car, making it easy for her to find an empty seat. She plopped down on the plastic bench and sighed. Today had been a rather tiring day. Mid-terms were coming up and they promised to be much harder this year than last year if that was even possible.

Haruhi closed her eyes and rested her head on the cool glass window behind her. She listened to the sounds of the train in motion, but was disturbed from her relaxation by a loud beeping noise coming from her backpack. Haruhi opened her eyes sat up.

Reaching into her bag, she pulled out the, admittedly outdated, cell phone her father had given her as a birthday present. She looked at the caller ID and groaned.

 _'Mei,'_ An image of the cheery ganguro appeared in her mind. _'Why did I give her this number? I told her it was for emergencies only.'_

Despite her annoyance, Haruhi flipped open the lid and brought the phone to her ear.

"Hi Mei," She said in as pleasant a voice as she could managed. "How are you doing?"

"Terrible Haruhi," the girl on the other end cried. "Just terrible!"

Haruhi sighed, already knowing this would be a long call.

**  
And indeed it was. Mei, it turned out, was calling because her new boyfriend had just broken up with her to date a girl in their science class. Haruhi wasn't particularly well versed in relationships, so she couldn't do much besides listen to her friend sob and try to comfort her as best she could.

Eventually, Haruhi convinced Mei to stop crying over 'that selfish ass' as the scorned girl had dubbed him and said goodbye to her. By then, her battery were almost completely dead, and the train had come to a stop.

"Hey," the man sitting across from her spoke up as he made to exit the train. "You better get off, this is as far as it goes."

"As far as…" Haruhi trailed off, only just remembering that she'd been on the train going home this whole time.

She turned to look out the window, a horrible sinking feeling in her stomach. The area she was now in was completely unfamiliar to her.

"Hey, where exact-" she stopped when she saw the man from before was already gone.

Now alone, Haruhi realized she had no other choice but to get off the train. As she disembarked, she walked to a map of the subway route. That man said this was the last stop, so she followed lines on the map with her finger until she got to the end, and saw that she was in a town called 'Ushinawa.' She'd never heard of it, but she could see that it was rather far away from where she lived.

Haruhi calmly grabbed her phone. She'd never been one for panicking in difficult situations.

 _'I hope I have enough battery left,'_ she thought as she dialed her home phone number.

The phone ring five times, not a good sign. Usually, her father picked up after two rings. He wasn't working late tonight, was he?

"Hellooooo," her father's cheery sing-song voice rang in her ear. "This is Ranka Fujioka! Neither me nor my cute little Haruhi are home right now, but leave us a message and we'll call you back!"

Haruhi moaned angrily, of course he was working late tonight. She waited for the beep and then started talking.

"Dad, it's me," she said. "Look if you're there, I really need you to pick up. I missed my stop and I'm in a town called Ushinawa, the trains aren't running anymore tonight and I don't know how to get home from here. Dad?"

She waited for a second, then sighed.

"Okay, I guess I'll try your workplace. See you later Dad."

She hung up the phone and then flipped it open again. Just in time to see a message appear informing her that her battery was dying and the phone was shutting itself down. For the next few moments, Haruhi stood rigid and stared at the now blank screen. She almost felt like laughing at the sheer hopelessness of the situation. She was stranded in a strange town with a dead cell phone and absolutely no way to get home.

"Well, it figures," she said to herself.

Resigned to her fate, she turned and walked towards the exit. Hopefully there'd be a store or something that would let her use their phone.

**  
As Haruhi walked down the streets, she realized that she was in a rather wealthy town. The whole block was made up of designer clothing shops, the only place that wasn't one appeared to be an accessory store.

The people walking by all had the stereotypical, 'I'm better than you,' rich person air to them, something she surprisingly didn't see in a lot of her classmates. Passer-by pointedly ignored her as she walked by and so she didn't even bother asking them if they had a phone she could use.

Eventually, she stopped in front of one of the stores and tentatively stepped through the open door. She was immediately greeted by a gust of warm air from the building's heater (not that she was complaining, it was rather cold outside).

A store attendant came up to greet her with a smile, but she stopped short as she took in Haruhi's frumpy appearance. A coat covered her Ouran Jacket, and her large glasses weren't exactly flattering. She probably didn't look much like their usual fare.

"Can I help you?" the woman stiffly asked.

Haruhi didn't like her tone, but she wouldn't leave without asking.

"Yes, my phone died and I need to call my dad. Do you by any chance have a phone I can use?"

The woman studied her with analytical eyes, and her lips pursed into a nearly invisible line.

"I'm sorry," she said in a decidedly un-sorry tone of voice. "We don't have a phone here."

_Ring Ring. Ring Ring. Ring Ring. Click._

"Hello, this is Keiko's, how may I help you?"

Haruhi and the worker glanced at the woman behind the desk as she conversed with whoever was on the other end. When Haruhi looked back at the woman expectantly, she found the woman was suddenly more cold looking than before.

"As I said," the woman said with finality. "We don't have a phone for someone like you. Have a nice night."

And with a dismissive look, the rude woman turned on a heel and prissily walked off, leaving Haruhi even more frustrated than before.

Unfortunately, this incident was a sign of things to come. The next five stores were exactly the same, and no matter where she went, she received the same snooty looks from equally snooty people. By the time she reached the accessory store, she was beginning to lose hope that there were any semi-decent people in the vicinity who would help her.

As she stepped into the store, she noticed right away that it wasn't quite as fancy looking as the clothing shops she'd been to. A few shoppers were visible, but the store was rather quiet other than the radio which was playing some foreign music she'd never heard before. It was a bit warmer in here than in the other places, so she unzipped her coat to keep from getting too hot.

The only employee she could see was a man behind the checkout desk. She briskly walked over to him, praying that, like his store, he was different from all the others.

"Excuse me," she got his attention fairly easy. "Do you have a phone I could use?"

The man looked at her, but unlike the others his expression wasn't one of disgust at her appearance. After a moment, he smiled, which surprised her a bit.

"Absolutely," the man said. "Of course you can use the phone."

Haruhi was, for a moment, unsure if she'd heard right. After so many rejections, she'd been expecting him to look down his nose at her and refuse.

"R-really?" she asked, relief welling up inside her.

"Really," the man confirmed with a grin.

Haruhi grinned as well. "Thank you so much, sir."

She reached out to the telephone beside him.

"I really needed to make thi-"

She stopped, and her relief gave way to her confusion when his hand suddenly appeared between hers and the phone.

"Ah-ah-ah," he said in a sing-song voice that suddenly wasn't so friendly. "You haven't paid for it yet."

Haruhi turned her gaze to his face, her mouth wide open and her expression incredulous.

"What? Pay?" she repeated, trying to process what she was hearing.

"Of course," the man said, his smile taking on a whole new meaning. "I'm running a business here, I can't just start giving things away, you know."

"I just need to make a phone call," Haruhi argued. "You can't charge me for that!"

The man shrugged. "Look, either you pay, or you don't get the phone, your choice. Personally, I would pay up. Someone like you isn't bound to have much luck around here."

All of a sudden, Haruhi missed the commoner schtick she got from her classmates. At least they weren't being intentionallyrude for the most part. Haruhi glared at the man, not sure if she was more angry at him for scamming her or for being right. Resigned, the brunette angrily pulled out her wallet.

"How much do you want?" she asked him.

His smile changed to smirk.

"That depends," he answered smugly. "How much do you have?"

Haruhi stopped. Her head snapped back up and she looked at the crooked salesman with anger burning in her eyes. Before she could tell him just what he could do with his phone, she felt a presence behind her, and a male voice joined the conversation.

"I don't believe that will be necessary."

The salesman's face lost all color. Haruhi wondered just what kind of person could make the previously collected man look so scared, and when she turned to face the newcomer, she got her answer.

He was almost a foot taller than her, with pitch black hair and severe looking gray eyes framed by a pair of glasses. He was shooting an intense look at the salesman, and didn't even acknowledge Haruhi until he felt her eyes on him, at which point he turned his gaze to her and smiled. Something about that smile made her very nervous.

"You can use my phone, Miss," he said politely to her.

It was only then that she realized he was holding an expensive looking cell phone in his hand, which he proceeded to hold out for her. She slowly took it, unsure of whether or not the young man was serious. He didn't react when she took the phone and instead brought his focus back to the salesman.

"Shogo Taiguchi, is it?" he said to the man more than asked. "I've noticed some of you're merchandise is not quite as authentic as you claim. You see, I purchased a bracelet here for my sister just one week ago and you assured me it was made from the finest silver. Well, I received a call from her last night. Apparently that bracelet was made of fake material if her green wrist is any indication. If you recall, I paid quite a bit under the impression that it was the real thing."

"Uhh…" Taiguchi was at a loss for what to say.

"So, I come here to discuss the situation with you and find you trying to scam this poor girl out of all her money. It really doesn't reassure me of your credibility."

"Wh-wh" the man was still dumbstruck. "S-so what? What are you going to do, you're just a kid!"

The black haired boy smiled evilly, making Taiguchi's hair stand on end.

"As I'm sure you're already aware, there's quite a bit I can do. Now, I have the bracelet here, if you would give me a full refund, that would be most appreciated."

This time, the man didn't argue.

**  
"Thank you," the young man said as he took his phone back. "Were you able to make your call, Miss Honor Student?"

Haruhi nodded. "Yeah, thanks for- did you just call me 'Miss Honor Student'?"

The boy smiled. "Well of course, you arethe infamous Haruhi Fujioka, correct?"

He gestured with his head at her coat, which was open to reveal her Ouran uniform underneath.

She nodded again. "So I guess you go to Ouran too."

"Yes, that's correct," he answered. "I am Kyoya Ootori, a third year student. It's nice to finally meet you, Ms. Fujioka."

"Nice to meet you too, Kyoya-senpai," Haruhi responded while giving her upperclassmen a respectful bow. "Thank you for the help, I really appreciate it."

"Well why wouldn't I help you,' Kyoya answered with a slight chuckle. "You're from Ouran after all."

Haruhi blinked. His statement confused her, and he noticed.

"What, do you think I would have bother to assist you if you weren't from Ouran?"

Haruhi's stomach deflated a bit. "So what you're saying is if you hadn't known I was from Ouran, you would have just let him scam me."

He shook his head. "If I'd known you were just a poor commoner I would have let him scam you."

At that, Haruhi sweat dropped.

 _'Of course,'_ she thought to herself. _'He's just another rich jerk who only thinks about- wait.'_

Haruhi's anger vanished, replaced by realization.

"But that isn't right," she said, making him raise an eyebrow at her. "You couldn't have known I was from Ouran. I had my back to you, you didn't see my uniform or my face until I turned around. Plus, you implied to him that I wasn't rich, so you must have known that beforehand."

For the first time since they'd met, Kyoya appeared honestly shocked. His mouth was open a bit, and he looked at her like he had no idea what to make of her. This confusion only lasted for a few brief moments, and when it was gone, the calm and collected aura he gave off made Haruhi wonder if it had really been there at all.

"You seem to have it all figured out then," he said to her, his tone even.

Haruhi shook her head. "Not really, I still don't understand why you'd do such a nice thing for someone you don't even know and then pretend to be a jerk about it."

He studied her for a moment. "Pretend?"

"Yes," she answered. "You may act nasty, but I bet you're really a nice guy underneath that, Kyoya-senpai."

Though his face didn't change his eyes had regained that confused look from before. The next few minutes were completely silent and Haruhi wondered if she should walk away from him, but the fact that he was still looking right at her stopped her. His penetrating gaze kept her rooted to one spot, and she was almost relieved when he started talking again.

"I see… in any case, will you be needing a ride home?"

She looked to the side and saw a limousine sitting in the parking spot waiting for the bespectacled boy. Before she could answer, their attention was diverting from each other by a beeping horn. When they turned, they saw a small, beat up white car parked right behind the limousine and Haruhi smiled.

"Thanks for the offer," she said, looking back at Kyoya. "But my ride is already here. I was able to get in touch with a friend of my dad's who lives nearby and he offered to drive me home."

Kyoya glanced with distaste at the dirty vehicle but nodded all the same.

"I suppose I'll see you at school then," he said to her.

Haruhi nodded. "Alright, see you later!"

She ran to the car and got in. As it drove away, Kyoya stepped into his own transport. The limousine pulled out of it's parking spot and Kyoya watched the buildings pass one by one, his thoughts on Haruhi Fujioka.

"They were right," he said to himself, the faces of his former club mates appearing in his head. Their voices spoke of the commoner girl they'd all encountered in some way. "She's quite interesting."

_'And she figured you out, didn't she Kyoya?'_

Kyoya scowled, how he hated the cheery voice of his conscience. Whenever he heard it, he had to marvel on how even after over a year of no contact, it still sounded exactly like that idiot he'd once called his best friend. He clenched his fists and closed his eyes, memories of their time together assaulting him, and the words were out of his mouth before he could stop them.

"Shut up, Tamaki."


	6. Tamaki

**_.06 Tamaki _ **

"...and when they kissed, the whole world melted away, and it was just them, lost in the throes of their passion and love."

Kasumi sighed, "That is so romantic."

Mei grinned and closed the book. "I know, I just love these stupid airport romance novels."

As the two girls giggled, the third member of their party kept her nose in a menu, trying in vain to understand just what this restaurant was serving. Haruhi consulted her Japanese to French phrasebook, wishing not for the first time that she'd taken French in High School.

"Can you believe we're in Paris?" Kasumi asked, laughing and throwing her arms up in joy.

"No Kasumi-chan," Mei answered with a smirk. "We couldn't believe it the last 48 times either, right Haruhi?"

"Mm-hm," the other girl nodded, still looking at the menu.

"Where'd our parents even get the money for this?" Kasumi wondered aloud.

"Don't question it," Mei advised. "Just enjoy it. Especially since we have to leave tomorrow."

Kasumi sighed. "I know, I've had so much fun these last few days. Where does the time go?"

Mei nodded in agreement.

Haruhi sighed and put down the menu.

"Need some help?" The ganguro asked.

Kasumi rolled her eyes, "Like you can read the menus, you told me you never took French."

"Did you?" Mei shot back.

"Three years," Kasumi answered holding up three fingers.

Mei opened her mouth, then closed it again and huffed in annoyance.

Once Kasumi had helped her two companions order, the trio got to talking about their future plans.

"And you're not going to college because, why?" Mei asked Kasumi, who shrugged.

"It's just not for me," she answered non-chalantely. "I'd rather go out and see the world. I was thinking of moving to London actually… and what about you Miss To-Oh University? We haven't heard a peep from you all night."

Haruhi, until then staring out the window, jerked to attention when Kasumi wrapped her arm around her shoulder and pulled her into a one armed hug.

"Oh sorry," the brunette answered when Kasumi let go. "I've just got a lot on my mind right now."

Mei raised an eyebrow. "Well, you should be having fun right now! You've graduated from that rich kid school of yours, and you're all set to go to Law School. For the whole rest of your life you'll be a busy hard working lawyer with 'a lot on your mind right now.' Right now, you are in Paris, France. Have some fun, why don't you?"

Haruhi blinked. "What kind of fun?"

"Well, this place has dancing you know," Kasumi motioned toward the dance floor. "We should go up there after we eat, I bet we'd meet some hot French guys."

Mei and Kasumi giggled at that, but Haruhi just rolled her eyes. Even though they'd only just met a few months ago, Mei and Kasumi had become inseparable. Since arriving in France, they'd developed a system for rating all the young French men they saw on a scale of one to ten (ten, Haruhi presumed, being the highest). Even after the waiter brought them their food, they were still going at it ( and for the record, the waiter himself was a 6).

"What about that guy?" Kasumi said between bites.

Mei examined the man she was motioning towards for a moment before answering.

"7, maybe an 8 if he fixed his hair a little better."

"Are you kidding?" Kasumi cried. "That guy is a hard 9!"

"Pft, not even," was Mei's response.

"What do you think, Haruhi?" Kasumi asked her middle school friend.

"Don't bother," Mei interrupted. "Haruhi's not into that sort of thi- oh my God…"

Kasumi blinked and gave a half smile. "What happened, did you see a 10?"

Though her tone was humorous, Mei's was anything but.

"No, but I do think I just saw an 11."

At that, Kasumi's eyes widened, and even Haruhi's interest was piqued a bit. She heard Kasumi gasp, and her curiosity finally got the better of her as she looked up to see who it was that amazed them so.

The first thing she saw were his eyes. They were violet.

She found that surprising. She'd heard of people having blue eyes or green eyes, but violet? That was different for sure. As she took in the rest of his blonde hair framed face, she realized that he was indeed a very handsome man. He was dressed in fairly casual clothes and he was standing in front of a table with his coat in hand. The final thing she noticed about him was probably the thing that interested her the most.

He was staring right back at her, with the same surprise and wonder that shined in her own eyes.

"…uhi? Haruhi? HARUHI!"

"Ah!" Haruhi yelped as she whirled around to face Kasumi, who threw up her hands in surrender.

"Whoa, sorry," she said with a nervous chuckle. "I didn't mean to startle you."

"N-no, it's alright," Haruhi answered, trying to stop herself from thinking about that guy. "I just-"

"He's coming over!" Mei exclaimed, pointing her finger outward.

"What?" Haruhi gasped and turned.

And indeed, he was fast approaching. Unlike Haruhi's, his eyes never seemed to have left her. When he was directly in front of them, he shook his head a bit and seemed to regain his senses. Rather than walk away, he flashed them a smile that made Kasumi and Mei blush madly before focusing again on Haruhi.

"Pardonnez-moi, mademoiselle," he began to say in a smooth voice. "Je ne veux pas troubler votre repas, mais j'espérais que tu me l'honneur avec une danse?"

Haruhi blinked and turned to Kasumi, silently asking for help. The dark haired girl smiled and stood up.

"Monsieur, mon ami ne parle pas français. Nous sommes en provenance du Japon et-"

"Oh you're from Japan?" the blonde stunned them all by interrupting Kasumi in perfect Japanese. "How wonderful, I haven't been there in ages!"

Haruhi shook her head a bit to wake up from her stupor as she answered.

"You speak Japanese?"

The blonde nodded cheerily as a huge grin appeared on his face, "Of course, I've always found Japanese culture fascinating! I even lived there for a while. Anyway, I just wanted to know if you would honor me with a dance, my dear."

Haruhi stepped back a bit. Now that she knew what he was saying to her earlier, she was at a complete loss for what to do about it. Glancing back at her friends, she found them silently egging her on, which she probably should've expected. Still, some small part of her actually wanted to accept his offer. She didn't know why, but something about this man struck her… not as familiar, but as someone who shouldbe familiar if that made sense (but she knew it didn't). She had to wonder if he felt the same way about her and if so, was that the reason he'd approached her like this.

And despite all odds, that small part of her won out. The next thing she knew, his hand grasped hers, and he was leading her onto the dance floor.

**  
"So what brings you to France?" the blonde asked her as they moved slowly around the dance floor ( _'Why did it have to be a slow dance?'_ ).

"We just graduated High School," Haruhi answered. "Our parents pooled their money together and paid for us to come to Paris for the weekend. We've been enjoying ourselves so far. Our hotel's not the best and we don't have much for souvenirs, but we are having fun. I'm kind of sad to go home tomorrow."

The blonde nodded, "I see."

"And what about you?" Haruhi asked, continuing when she noted his confused look. "You said before you lived in Japan before."

Now understanding, the blonde smiled, but his smile was sad for some reason. "Well you see, my father comes from a wealthy family and my mother was his mistress. I was conceived out of wedlock. My father divorced his wife for my mother, but she was too sick to be with him, so I stayed with her here in France. A few years later, my Grandmother offered to pay for my mother's treatment after her family went bankrupt, in return I was to go to Japan and never have any contact with her again."

"Why not?" Haruhi asked, amazed that anyone would demand something so cruel.

The blonde shook his head. "My grandmother never liked me or my mother, but the family needed an heir and I was the only option. I lived there for about three years until I got married."

Haruhi stopped moving. "Married?"

The blonde nodded in confusion. "Yes, does that bother you?"

The brunette started when she realized what she'd just inadvertently implied and shook her head.

"No, it doesn't bother me, I'm just a bit surprised. I mean, you don't look much older than me and you're married?"

The blonde stared at her for a moment, then let out a laugh.

"Well actually, as of this morning, I'm divorced."

Haruhi titled her head a bit. "Divorced? How come…if you don't mind me asking."

"Not at all," he answered reassuringly. "You see, after I got married, I got to return to France and see my mother again. I was glad to be with her again, but I did miss my father and my friends in Japan. I still do in fact. That's why I told myself that one day, I'd go back no matter what my Grandmother says."

"So what happened?" Haruhi asked, now more interested than ever.

"Before I tell you, you must understand that I was never in love with my ex-wife," the blonde began. "Our marriage was arranged by my Grandmother, neither one of us ever had a say in it. My ex-wife believed herself to be in love with me at first, but by the time our wedding came around, I think she realized there could be nothing between us. We never even slept in the same room after our wedding night. Don't get me started on the honeymoon."

Despite the melancholy of the blonde's story, Haruhi couldn't help but smile at that.

"It was like that for three years, and then several months ago, my Grandmother unfortunately passed away."

Haruhi almost raised an eyebrow at that. From what he'd told her, his Grandmother sounded like a horrible person. But the way he spoke of her passing, she'd almost think he really did love her in spite of it all.

"When she died, my ex-wife decided we were in the clear to separate. I wanted to wait a while out of respect for the dead, but before I knew it, she'd drawn up the divorce papers."

He chuckled.

"She always was on top of things like that. Anyway, we went ahead with the proceedings. Since our divorce was amicable, there were no battles over money. She kept what belonged to her and I kept what belonged to me. It worked out nicely, and just this morning, I signed the final papers and our separation was made official. I actually found out from my lawyer that she'd signed her part of the papers from Tahiti. She's on vacation there with her new boyfriend."

Haruhi nodded, unsure of how to respond to that.

"I'm glad she's happy," the blonde went on. "I can't say we're best friends, but we do care about each other in our own way."

Haruhi nodded as his story had come to an end.

"So what now?" she asked him. "Are you staying here in France?"

He sighed and shook his head.

"I was wondering that myself. I let her keep the house, and my mother went over to Japan three months ago to be with my father. It's funny, I've lived here for most of my life, but ever since I left for Japan, this place just doesn't feel like home anymore. It was an obvious decision I suppose, to go back to Japan," he had a wistful expression now. "I have a flight booked for tomorrow morning. I can't wait to go back, even though…"

The song ended as the blonde trailed off. Haruhi gave him a confused look. "Even though what?"

She noted the nervousness evident on his face. For all the time since he'd first came up to her, he'd been almost perpetually smiling and cheerful. Now he just looked scared, and she had no idea why.

"It's nothing," he finally answered, and she knew he was lying, but didn't push it.

The blonde was quiet for a moment, and then his smile appeared again.

"Oh, I've probably kept you long enough, I bet your friends are wondering where you are."

**  
 _Dear Haruhi,  
Had to head back to hotel. Don't worry, we already paid. See you later.  
Mei and Kasumi._

Haruhi's eye twitched as she read the note.

"They ditched me," she muttered to herself. "I can't believe they ditched me. Why would they do that?"

Behind her, the blonde man shrugged. "I couldn't tell you."

Haruhi sighed. "Well, I guess I'd better get a cab… it was nice meeting you."

As she turned to walk away, the blonde's hand reached out and grabbed her arm.

"Wait a minute," he said. "Won't you let me give you a ride?"

Haruhi was taken aback, but tried not to show it. What was it about guys offering to give her rides. Was it chivalry or something? One way or another, she knew she'd be giving him the same answer she'd given to all the others. She opened her mouth to voice a polite refusal…

And stopped. She didn't know why she stopped, but she did. That feeling was back, that strange feeling that she should know this man, that she shouldn't just leave it like this. It was telling her that if she left now, she'd never see him again, and something about that just felt so…wrong. That feeling had to be possessing her for a moment, because she could have sworn she heard the words, "Thank you, I'd really appreciate it," come out of her mouth just before his face broke into a wide grin and he pulled her by the arm towards the door.

**  
Of course, his car turned out to be a limousine, that wasn't surprising. The ride was silent for a while, before the blonde man spoke up again.

"You know I just realized something," he said. "In all this time we've been talking, I never did learn your name."

Haruhi started as she realized the same thing. With a slight chuckle, she held out her hand the way westerners did to greet people.

"You're right, I'm sorry. My name is Haruhi Fujioka."

The blonde smiled as he took her hand.

"Tamaki Suoh," he answered. "It's nice to meet you."

Haruhi smiled and pulled her hand away. "So Tamaki-san, I've been meaning to ask you something."

"Yes, my dear Haruhi?" he answered charmingly.

"Are you scared to go back to Japan?"

His smile instantly melted, replaced by a mixture of surprise and fear.

"Whatever gave you that idea?" he asked trying and failing to retain the charm he'd held thus far.

"Well, normally I wouldn't pry," Haruhi answered, unaffected by his reaction. "But I could just see it in your face."

Tamaki nodded, but didn't respond, and remained silent for several more seconds, making Haruhi wonder if she'd crossed a line somewhere.

"If you don't want to tell me, it's okay," she assured him.

The blonde shook his head, "No, it's alright. It's just that I had these friends in Japan. They… well, I guess you could say they were liked a second family to me. I formed a club and recruited them all to join, that's how we all met. After I left Japan, I had to disband the club, and my Grandmother forbade me from ever contacting them again. That was three years ago and I haven't heard from them since, but I do miss them a great deal."

He paused, looking for the right words as he averted his eyes.

"I'm just afraid that after all this time, they won't want to see me anymore. Or if they do, things won't be the same as they used to be."

Haruhi gazed at him, not liking the scared and worried look in his eye. It just didn't suit him.

"It _won't_ be the same," she said suddenly, making him look back up at her. "You're right about that. Things can't ever go back to the way they used to be. You made a choice, and now you're facing the consequences of that choice. All you can do is move forward. Maybe when you see them again, they'll accept you, and maybe they won't, but no matter what happens, you just have to make the best of things... My dad believes that things happen the way they're supposed to, and that no matter what choices you make, fate will always bring you back to where you need to be. I suppose if that's true, you'll be happy no matter what happens, even if at first it doesn't seem like you will."

Haruhi took a deep breath upon finishing her speech. Tamaki had listened, taking in everything she was saying. To Haruhi's relief, his smile came back, and his eyes lost a bit of their sadness, making way for hope.

"I see, that makes a lot of sense," he said. "Thank you Haruhi, you're a very wise person."

Haruhi smiled. "Not really, but thank you for the compliment."

Right as she said that, the limousine came to a stop.

"Nous sommes ici, Monsieur le Suoh," the driver said.

Haruhi couldn't understand what he was saying until she looked out the window and saw the front entrance of her hotel.

Tamaki gave her a sad smile. "Well, I guess this is goodbye, Haruhi."

"Thank you for the ride," the brunette responded. "And it really was nice meeting you."

The blonde chuckled a bit as she began to step out of the vehicle. "You too, maybe someday we'll cross paths again."

"Maybe," the brunette answered, genuinely hoping that would be the case.

She pushed the door shut, gave a last look to her new friend, and walked back to her hotel. She intended on finding out just what her dear friends were thinking, leaving her behind like that.

Meanwhile, Tamaki Suoh was staring at his cell phone, silently debating with himself. Somehow, the image of Haruhi's face in his mind's eye gave him the courage he needed to finally being dialing. Tamaki listened to the ringing, praying that his friend hadn't changed numbers. He was relieved when a familiar voice came on, even though it was only an answering machine. Tamaki took a deep breath when he heard the beep.

"Kyoya? Hi it's…it's me, Tamaki."


	7. Haruhi

_ **.07 Haruhi** _

"What do you _mean_ you were overbooked?" Mei raged at the airport employee. "Our parents booked these tickets a month ago, and now you're telling me that someone else has our seats?"

"I'm sorry Miss Yasumura," the man said in a calm voice that only served to further piss the ganguro off. "We had an unfortunate computer error that resulted in the overbooking. We can give you another flight to Japan tomorrow at-"

"We can't wait 'til tomorrow," Mei argued back. "We're supposed to go home today!"

Meanwhile, Kasumi and Haruhi sat on a bench watching their friend continue shouting at the employee. Kasumi sighed in frustration.

"I can't believe this," she muttered. "Just our luck, huh?"

Haruhi nodded.

"Well, at least we had a fun trip," Kasumi said wistfully. "I'm really gonna miss Paris... and I bet you had fun last night with that Tamaki guy, huh?"

Haruhi glared at her friend's smirking face. "Kasumi, for the thousandth time, all we did was talk."

"Oh really," Kasumi said slyly. "So that's all you were doing on the dance floor was talking?"

"Yes, talking," Haruhi answered firmly. "You would know that if you and Mei hadn't left me there."

"I said I was sorry didn't I?" said the now sheepish Kasumi. "I didn't want to go, but Mei said you guys were having a moment and that we shouldn't intrude."

"That's hardly an excuse," Haruhi snorted. "...and we weren't _'having a moment'_. Really Kasumi, I'd only just met him."

"So?" Kasumi shrugged. "That doesn't mean anything. Sometimes when you meet the right person, it just hits you."

Haruhi sighed. "Life isn't like a romance novel Kasumi, besides, I'll probably never see him again."

"Excuse me."

Haruhi's head snapped up and she first saw Mei's shocked face before the familiar form of Tamaki Suoh appeared in her line of sight.

"No way" she whispered to herself, while next to her, Kasumi let out a cheer.

"Is there a problem here?" Tamaki asked the man behind the desk.

"This girl here and her friends had a flight booked for Japan, but there was an error with the booking and no seats are available," the man explained.

Tamaki looked a bit confused at that.

"Are you sure?" he asked. "Because it was to my understanding that there were some seats still open in first class."

The man nodded. "That's true, but these girls are flying economy and there's no availability there."

At that Tamaki smiled and reached for his wallet. "Well then, give them three first class seats."

Haruhi jaw dropped, and she was pretty sure Mei's and Kasumi's had as well.

"You-" she started to say as she stood up. "You- You can't-"

"I insist," Tamaki said with a look and a tone that implied no room for arguments.

**  
Even though she wasn't quite happy with how she got there, Haruhi had to admit, first class was nice. Behind her, Mei was sound asleep against the window, and Kasumi had her headphones on and her nose in a magazine. Haruhi glanced at the seat beside her. Somehow she'd wound up sitting right next to Tamaki Suoh, who was surprisingly quiet throughout the whole flight, but Haruhi had a good idea why.

"Did you talk to them?" she broke the silence.

He started a bit and then turned to look at her.

"Well I called, but none of them picked up," he answered. "I left them all messages, telling them I'd be back, but I don't know how many of them will want to see me. I haven't gotten a single callback yet."

Haruhi put a comforting hand on his shoulder.

"Well, if they don't come," she said. "They were never good friends to start with."

"They were the best friends I've ever had," Tamaki responded defensively.

Haruhi pulled back her hand, a bit startled by his tone. "Then they'll be there."

Tamaki blinked, then smiled.

Haruhi turned to look out the window again, but then she felt Tamaki's hand on her shoulder.

"Haruhi, will you wait with me?" he asked once she was facing him.

"What?" Haruhi asked, confused.

"I asked them to come meet me at the airport," he explained. "I won't be too happy if they don't show up, but if you're with me, I think I'll be okay."

This didn't help much, in fact her confusion only grew.

"Why me?" she asked.

Tamaki looked deep into her eyes, as if he too was searching for an answer to her question.

"I... I don't know," he answered with a shrug. "There's something about you. I just feel like it'll be okay if you're with me."

Haruhi stared, not sure whether she should say yes or no, at least not until she saw the lost look in his eyes.

"Okay, Tamaki-san, I'll wait with you," she answered.

Tamaki looked relieved as he gazed into Haruhi's eyes, and kept looking even when she tried to avert her eyes. His relief had changed to a thoughtful expression, she wondered just what he was thinking.

"Your eyes," he breathed, as if reading her thoughts.

Haruhi raised an eyebrow, "What about them?"

"They're quite lovely," Tamaki answered, in that charming voice of his. Was he flirting with her or something? "They'd look so much better without those hideous glasses of yours."

Haruhi sweat dropped. _'Hideous?'_

"Well, I do have contacts," Haruhi answered with a bit of a shake to her voice. "I just don't wear them very often."

"You should," Tamaki answered before suddenly reaching out and grabbing the frame between two fingers.

Haruhi protested and tried to push his hand away, but he still managed to get them off, and when he did, his own eyes widened and his jaw fell. He gawked at her as if he'd never seen anything like her.

"You really should..." he said softly to himself as he gazed at her now glasses free face.

**  
Unnoticed by either Haruhi or Tamaki, a certain ganguro's peacefully 'sleeping' face broke out into a smile.

"Woah, look at the time," Mei loudly declared while looking at her bare wrist. "I'd better hurry home, come on Kasumi."

"Wait, wha-" The confused girl started before Mei clamped a hand over her mouth.

"We'll see you later Haruhi-chan!" The ganguro said as she winked at Haruhi, and ran off into the crowd, dragging Kasumi along with her.

And that was it. Mei and Kasumi had once again ditched Haruhi and left her alone with Tamaki Suoh.

Haruhi watched them run off with an exasperated expression before looking at Tamaki.

"Sorry about them, they don't usually act this way."

"It's all right," Tamaki answered. "I can tell they're good friends to you."

Even though he was smiling, Haruhi knew that inside he was still scared. These friends of his clearly meant a lot to him, as if they were his real family. For the next ten minutes, neither one talked. They were standing in the place Tamaki had told his friends to meet him, and as the minutes dragged on, she could tell he was losing hope. Fifteen minutes had gone by. Twenty minutes.

The 21st minute passed, and Tamaki slumped over in a nearby seat.

"They didn't come," he whispered in a broken voice.

Haruhi watched him, knowing she should say something, but what, she didn't know. In the end, she decided to just say what she'd been thinking the entire time they'd been there.

"Listen Tamaki-san, no matter what, I want you to know that I I'll still be here for you."

Tamaki looked up, a hopeful look in his eye. "You mean it?"

"Yes," she answered, in a way she never would have when she was younger. "I mean it."

And suddenly, Tamaki's sadness seemed to melt away. Before Haruhi knew it, he'd sprang to his feet and pulled her into a hug.

"Oh, thank you, Haruhi!" He shouted, making passer-by stop and stare. "I knew you wouldn't let me down, you're such a good friend!"

"Please let me go," Haruhi deadpanned. She wasn't really used to people acting that way toward her (other than her father, anyway).

Tamaki let her go, but the grin still remained, and for that she was grateful. Even though she knew he was still sad, she could tell that he would be okay in the end. In amazed her how much she'd come to care for this person in the very short time she'd known him. It felt like so much longer than two days, and though he was a bit of an idiot, as she was slowly coming to understand, he really was sweet and, dare she say it, charming. Haruhi gave a light, relaxed sigh, she could already tell they'd be good friends.

"What do you say we get some coffee?" He asked her once he composed herself. "I think there's one of those 'Starbucks' places over there that you commoners go to, I've always wanted to try it!"

_'Again with the commoner stuff? And here I thought I'd be rid of that once I got out of school.'_

Haruhi took another glance at Tamaki's exuberant expression and felt a smile tugging at her lips.

_'Well, I guess it's not so bad.'_

The two of them grabbed Haruhi's bags (Tamaki, ever the gentlemen, insisted on carrying the heavier one) and walked away from the bench towards the coffee shop just across the way. They'd gotten three steps, when Tamaki's free arm suddenly shot out in front of Haruhi, stopping her in her tracks.

"Wha-"

"Shhh," He shushed her.

"What is it?" the surprised Haruhi asked again, more softly.

"I hear something," Tamaki answered softly as he leaned forward and titled his head to the side so he could hear better.

Haruhi listened as well. At first, she heard nothing but the buzz of people talking and the voice on the overhead announcing flight times. And then she heard a voice, a familiar voice. It started out too low for her make out what it was saying.

"...ma ...an."

And then it got louder.

"...ama ...han!"

And louder and louder until-

"TAMA-CHAAAAN!"

What looked like a dirty blonde, human sized bullet hurled itself at Tamaki, almost knocking him off his feet. The newcomer was joined before either the taller blonde or Haruhi knew it, when twin cries of 'Boss!' rang out and two more bodies threw themselves at Tamaki. Their voice meshed together and Haruhi wasn't even sure what they were saying as the mess of bodies tried to organize themselves in a way that they could all squeeze Tamaki half to death. Haruhi watched as a tall man walked over and pulled the three off of Tamaki and another young man stood behind him.

"I can't believe you came back, Boss!" Hikaru Hitachiin cried after straightening himself.

"Yeah, we thought we'd never see you again!" His brother, Kaoru Hitachiin, added.

Tamaki chuckled, tears welling up in his eyes as he looked at his old friends, for once in his life completely lost for words.

"We missed you Tama-chan!" Mitsukuni Haninozuka, or Hunny, piped up while hugging Tamaki around the waist.

"We're glad you're back," came the resonating voice of Takashi 'Mori' Morinozuka.

Tamaki smiled at them individually, and then his gaze turned to the bespectacled Kyoya Ootori standing away from the group.

"Hey there Kyoya," he called out. "Why are you all the way back there? Didn't you miss me?"

Kyoya studied Tamaki for a moment and then he walked forward, pushing past the other four as he went. He stood in front of Tamaki and whacked him over the head with his fist. Tamaki clutched the top of his head in pain and looked on the verge of tears until Kyoya smiled at him.

"You're such a moron, Tamaki," He said with a shake of his head. "Don't ever leave like that again."

Tamaki pain seemed to vanish instantly, Before anyone knew what had happened, he launched himself at his best friend and pulled him into a bone crushing hug.

"Ah, I missed you, Mother!" Tamaki cried and rubbed his cheek against Kyoya's several times before letting go. "I missed all of you so much!"

As if something struck his brain, Tamaki suddenly remembered something, or someone, important.

"Oh, and I completely forgot!" he announced before turning around to face the young woman he'd come to think of as a dear friend. "This is my new friend-"

"Haruhi?"

"HARUHI?"

"Haru-chan?"

Tamaki stopped as the group stared with wide eyes at Haruhi. He turned his own gaze to her, and when he saw similar recognition in her eyes, openly gaped.

"Wait, do you all know each other?" he asked incredulously.

"Well sort of," Haruhi answered. "See, we all went to school together. Hikaru and Kaoru were in the same class as me and I've met Hunny-senpai, Mori-senpai, and Kyoya-senpai a few times."

"So you went to Ouran?" Tamaki asked and just like that, a light bulb went off in his head and he gasped. "Then you're Haruhi Fujioka, the honor student, aren't you?"

"And I guess you're Tamaki Suoh, the Chairman's son," Haruhi stated with a smile, wondering how she hadn't picked up on her new friend's last name.

Tamaki nodded dumbly, but then a change seemed to come over him.

"Well, I guess you were right then, Haruhi."

"Right about what?" she asked.

Tamaki grinned, his violet eyes looking deep into her unobstructed brown ones.

"This really is fate."

And somehow, Haruhi found she couldn't deny that.

"Well, I'm getting bored now," Hikaru loudly spoke up, breaking the mode. "Let's go get something to eat."

"Yeah, let's get some cake!" Hunny cheered, jumping up and down like an excited child.

"First dinner, then cake," Mori said firmly to his cousin allowing the smaller boy to climb up onto his shoulders.

"I think there's a place a few blocks from here," Kaoru joined in the conversation.

"That's not very specific," Kyoya remarked while pulling out his cellphone.

"Haruhi, are you coming?" Tamaki asked the girl when he noticed she wasn't with the group.

Haruhi shook her head and made to sit down. "No, I don't think so. I'm sure you guys want to get reacquainted with each other and I don't want to be in the way."

"Who said you'd be getting in the way?" Hikaru asked her with a serious expression.

"Yeah Haru-chan," Hunny spoke up. "We want you to come!"

As the others voiced their agreement, Tamaki gave her that charming smile that bewitched women everywhere, and held out his hand.

"C'mon Haruhi, let's go."

Haruhi stared at him, then at the twins, then the bespectacled boy, and then the small one and his much larger companion. They were such an odd bunch, she had to admit. Maybe that's why they worked so well together.

She knew right away that she would go with them. Somehow, she'd known it from the start. So when she finally took Tamaki's hand and allowed him and the others to lead her away, nobody was really surprised.

And she didn't know why, but as she and the six young men exited the airport discussing where to go for some early dinner, she couldn't help but feel that for the first time in a long time, everything was exactly the way it was supposed to be.


End file.
